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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Thursday, November 17, 2011

A traditional old fashioned yeast roll, made a bit easier by using the equally old fashioned pan roll method.

Old Fashioned Pan Rolls

I will be the first one to say to you, please make my homemade yeast roll for a holiday meal. They are fabulous and worth every ounce of energy you will put into them.

But I also know that the most intimidating part for many people in making those is probably shaping the rolls for the second rise. It's really not that difficult, but on the surface it appears a bit complicated, and it is another step in an already busy kitchen. This old fashioned pan roll solves all of that.

I love the tenderness of the shaped rolls myself, because you have a much smaller, nicely browned crusty surface area, but when you pop it open, it's light and fluffy and tender on the inside. You still get that here, only in a different presentation, and unless you cut them smaller, in a bigger bite. These rolls are good for anytime you want a special roll, like any normal Sunday supper, and they are also fantastic for day after the holiday ham sandwiches.

I've tried dozens of the quicker 30 minute roll recipes and I've yet to find one that makes me happy. Frankly while they are not bad, the ones I've tried are really much more like biscuits than rolls to me, and to me there is a distinct difference between the two. But... in all fairness I am a bit of a bread freak so I guess my threshold is high. I'm telling you, if you set a block of butter and a basket of hot yeast rolls in front of me on one side, and a big platter filled with assorted desserts next to them on the other side, I'd go for the hot rolls every single time.

This is my basic yeast roll recipe using the old fashioned pan method of rolling the dough into an oblong shape, placing it all in one piece into a buttered 9 x 13 inch baking pan and then scoring the dough for the second rise. It's not anything unique to me at all - in fact, it's a very old method, that essentially gives you a pull apart type of roll. When they're done you just cut through the scoring and put them into the bread basket. I've also written this for hand mixing for those of you who do not have a stand mixer.

By the way, do invest in an instant read thermometer of some type for your kitchen. They are fairly inexpensive and a necessary kitchen tool in my opinion. Even though I consider myself to be a fairly seasoned cook, I still use mine all the time to check internal temperature in chicken, meat, pork, roasts, even breads, and like here, water temperature, because too hot water will kill yeast and too cold water is ineffective. An instant read thermometer makes it fool proof.

Here's how to make these delicious rolls.

First things first - I always proof the yeast to make sure it's good. Proofing the yeast with a bit of sugar lets you know the yeast is alive. If it doesn't bubble up, it's not good. Sure is a lot better than throwing a whole recipe together only to end up with ineffective yeast and flat bread after all that work. I buy the yeast that comes in a jar and store mine in the freezer. When I need it, I just measure it out and let it come to room temperature while I gather the rest of the ingredients.

So step one, check your water temperature. Then step two, place the yeast, along with a pinch of sugar and a small amount of water at about 110 degrees, in this case 1/4 cup, mix well, and let it proof for about 5 minutes or so. If it puffs up like this, it's good! If it doesn't, go buy new yeast before proceeding.

In a large bowl add 2 cups of the all purpose flour, 3/4 cup of warm milk, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/4 cup of butter and 1 large egg. Stir together.

Add the yeast.

Mixture will be gooey.

Add in 1/2 cup of flour.

Stir and add in another 1/2 cup.

Keep adding flour 1/2 cup at a time.

Until the dough pulls away from and cleans the sides of the bowl.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, sprinkle with flour on top, and knead, using the heel of your hand to push on the dough, folding it and turning it a quarter turn.

Continue kneading, just until the dough is smooth and elastic, but don't overwork the dough.

Wipe out the mixing bowl and smear oil around on the inside. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to coat all sides.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place a clean towel on top, and place in a draft free place to rise, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until doubled.

Pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl to deflate.

Then turn it out onto a floured surface.

Cover the dough with the inverted bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Now this is where you would normally shape the rolls into rounds, and certainly if you want to you still can! But for pan rolls we'll be doing them a little bit different. Generously butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and set aside. Roll the dough into an oblong shape about the size of your baking dish.

Pick it up and transfer the entire block of dough to the baking dish.

Gently pat the edges of the dough out.

Use a sharp knife to score at least 15 squares about 1/4 inch deep into the dough, 5 across and 3 down. You can also score them out smaller for more rolls if you like.

Drizzle the 1/4 cup of cooled melted butter all over the top if desired, and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Place into a draft free place to rise again, about 30 minutes, or until doubled.

Preheat oven to to 400 degrees F and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until nicely golden brown. Brush with additional melted butter if desired and cut through the scored cuts to separate the rolls. Transfer to a bread basket and serve immediately.

For more of my roll and bread recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!

If you make this or any of my recipes, I'd love to see your results! Just snap a photo and hashtag it #DeepSouthDish on social media or tag me @deepsouthdish on Instagram!

Warm the milk; set aside to cool. Place the yeast, a pinch of sugar and the water into a small bowl, mix well, and let it proof for about 5 minutes. In a large bowl add 2 cups of the flour, the cooled milk, sugar, salt, butter and egg. Stir together and add the yeast mixture; dough will be gooey.

Begin adding in enough of the remaining flour to make the dough hold together, about 1/2 cup at a time. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, sprinkle with flour on top, and knead, using the heel of your hand to push on the dough, folding it and turning it a quarter turn, just until the dough is smooth and elastic. Put oil into a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn it to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place a clean towel on top, and place in a draft free place to rise, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until doubled.

Pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl to deflate. Then turn it out onto a floured surface. Cover the dough with the inverted bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Generously butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Roll the dough into an oblong shape about the size of your baking dish; pick it up and transfer the entire block of dough to the baking dish, gently patting it in. Use a sharp knife to score 15 squares about 1/4 inch into the dough, 5 across and 3 down. Drizzle the cooled melted butter all over the top and cover loosely with the plastic wrap. Place into a draft free place to rise again, about 30 minutes, or until doubled.

Preheat oven to to 400 degrees F and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until nicely golden brown. Brush with additional melted butter if desired and cut through the scored cuts to separate the rolls. Transfer to a bread basket and serve immediately.

Cook's Notes: Once you deflate the dough and let it rest under the bowl for 5 minutes, you can also just pull off 15 even pieces of dough, shaping them into round balls and setting them into the buttered pan.

Tip: My house is drafty so I usually use my oven to help my dough rise quicker. Simply preheat the oven on the lowest setting and turn on the oven light. After 5 to 10 minutes, turn the oven off. Prepare the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place a clean towel on top, and place the bowl in the oven, until doubled. Return to the oven again for the second rise. This will often knock off 30 minutes or more on the rise time. Do not, however, put the dough into an oven that is on.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

Hi and thanks so much for stopping by! If you visit much here you'll learn I'm not much of a baker at all, but I do love making bread & I've picked up a few tips here and there, mostly from trial and error. That yeast tip will save you some aggravation that's for sure! Even though I freeze my yeast, I still always test it.

Thanks for the idea. I have been trying to come up with an easy roll to make for a luncheon. I don't like how mine turn out when I pull off pieces. Might be the recipe. I will try yours. I bake bread every week and hadn't thought of trying this.

I, too, am a bread eater. I love hot yeast rolls (or even cold) with butter. When I was in college, my favorite care package from home was a box of yeast rolls and a stick of real butter! My roommates and I would have a feast!

Hi Bill! Haven't seen you pop by in awhile - nice to see ya! Yes, you're right about that smell - well, any fresh homemade yeast bread. Too bad you can't bottle that wonderful aroma!

You're welcome Sandy. I've tried a number of different recipes over my lifetime & I always end up coming back to this one. The pan method isn't nearly as "pretty" as the shaped method but it is a little bit of a time saver. You can use this recipe and make it into rounds or shapes also. Let me know if you try it!

This looks like a real easy method for anyone short on time or a bit nervous about making rolls. Homemade rolls are one of the stars at our Thanksgiving table, so I'm checking out your recipe.I have a bowl like your green one, only mine is harvest gold. An oldie!

I love this! I'm a former pastry cook (I love bread in all forms too) and a fairly new transplant to the South (north-central Florida), and I really enjoying hearing about the local food from the natives. I'm definitely going to try these rolls soon!

Hey girl....I will be definitely making these for dinner on Thanksgivin day! I really appreciate all of your efforts in giving us all these wonderful recipes. Some are my absolute favorites in my recipe box now. If I don't make it back...Happy Thanksgiving to you and the Cajun!! That lucky man!! Wish I lived with you!!

I agree with you 100% about most pan rolls tasting like biscuits - plus I too would choose the hot bread and butter over dessert!

To get back to the biscuits - I recently tried a 30 min pan roll recipe popular on Pinterest.com I was so disappointed in them. They almost tasted like Cloud biscuits. Don't get me wrong, biscuits are delicious, but they don't fit the Hot Roll bill. Thank you for the great recipe, once again! Happy Thanksgiving!

I know Shelley - can you believe I've had that one since it was new? And you'd think that I'd have it up on some shelf to protect it but nope, I use it regularly. Pretty sturdy so far, hoping I don't break it now that I've talked about it though LOL!!

OK, my stock question...can this be done through the first rising in my Zo? Can you tell I love my bread machine? ;o)Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!! I'm thankful for all the great recipes and ideas I get from your site!

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

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